How to Get Around Wind-Up Rabbit

April 2nd, 2012

Wind-Up Rabbit is a master of evasion. Nearly any time it’s in danger, it can use its effect to banish itself to safety. But, like every other monster, Wind-Up Rabbit has its weaknesses. If you exploit those weaknesses, you should have no problem taking down Wind-Up Rabbit.

He leaps up, down, and all around! Nobody can lay a hand on this funny bunny.

Here are 3 of Wind-Up Rabbit’s most exploitable weaknesses:

1.) Wind-Up Rabbit banishes itself as an effect, not a cost.

It’s important to note that Wind-Up Rabbit banishes itself as part of its effect – not as a cost. This means that when you Chain a card to Wind-Up Rabbit’s effect, Wind-Up Rabbit will still be on the field when that card resolves. That opens up lots of plays that let you take down the Rabbit.

Negate Wind-Up Rabbit’s effect with Fiendish Chain or Skill Drain when an opponent tries to banish his Wind-Up Rabbit, and it’ll be trapped on the field, vulnerable to your Spells, Traps, and Monsters. For example, if you activate Torrential Tribute to wipe the field clear and your opponent tries to rescue his Wind-Up Rabbit by using its effect, you can Chain Fiendish Chain to negate the Rabbit’s effect so that it falls with the rest of your opponent’s monsters. Skill Drain can also be used to permanently stop Wind-Up Rabbit and all its friends in their tracks.

Sometimes you’ll be able to take down Wind-Up Rabbit by using 2 cards in a Chain, both of which can get rid of the Rabbit for good. For example, if your opponent attacks with Wind-Up Rabbit and you use Dimensional Prison to try to banish it, your opponent will most likely Chain Wind-Up Rabbit’s effect in order to escape your Prison. But then you can Chain Mirror Force or a second Dimensional Prison to the Rabbit’s effect. Your opponent’s Rabbit won’t be able to dodge your second Trap Card, since Wind-Up Rabbit’s effect can only be used once while it’s face-up on the field. Be careful when you do this, make sure it’s worth using both Traps before you try this maneuver.

2.) A banished Wind-Up Rabbit can be swiped permanently.

Sometimes it’s not so bad if an opponent uses his Wind-Up Rabbit’s effect to banish it from the Duel. Once Wind-Up Rabbit is banished, it’s vulnerable to different cards that can get rid of it before it returns to the field.
The most popular of these cards is Leviair the Sea Dragon. Leviair can Special Summon any banished monster that’s Level 4 or lower. Special Summon an opponent’s banished Wind-Up Rabbit, and your opponent won’t be able to bring that Rabbit back on his next Standby Phase. Instead, thanks to Leviair, Wind-Up Rabbit will be fighting on your side of the field.

One of the easiest ways to force Wind-Up Rabbit to banish itself or face destruction while you have Leviair the Sea Dragon on the field is simply by attacking the Rabbit with Leviair. Since Leviair is stronger than Wind-Up Rabbit, your opponent will face an unfortunate dilemma: he can let his Rabbit be destroyed by Leviair in battle, or he can banish Wind-Up Rabbit to dodge the attack, only to have it swiped by Leviair’s effect in Main Phase 2.

Instead of using Leviair the Sea Dragon to Special Summon an opponent’s banished Wind-Up Rabbit, you can also use Burial from a Different Dimension to return a banished Wind-Up Rabbit to your opponent’s Graveyard. Like stealing Wind-Up Rabbit with Leviair, returning it to the Graveyard with Burial will prevent your opponent from returning it to the field in his next Standby Phase. Burial is also useful for putting other card’s you don’t want Leviair to Summon back in the Graveyard.

3.) Banishing Wind-Up Rabbit leaves a Duelist defenseless.

Even if you can’t get rid of Wind-Up Rabbit because it dodges all of your attempts to destroy it, sometimes you can attack around it. When an opponent banishes Wind-Up Rabbit with its effect, he’ll save the Rabbit, but temporarily be left defenseless. Many times, attacking Wind-Up Rabbit with a stronger monster will cause your opponent to banish the Rabbit and take a direct attack from your monster instead. Keep attacking with strong monsters, and your opponent’s Life Points won’t be able to sustain the attacks. Eventually, your opponent will need to use his Wind-Up Rabbit to protect his Life Points, either by using it to make a Rank 3 Xyz Monster or by letting it get destroyed in battle.

Wind-Up Rabbit may be fast, but it’s not impossible to catch. Come up with a strategy for taking it down, and this funny bunny won’t be able to escape!